Is This the Best-Ever Era for Learning?

[Debater Slayer]

I zoned out a bit and had this thought while studying earlier today. I had several tabs open in my browser, a few for one subject and a few for the other, and could seamlessly alternate between them at the click of a button. I could also move from my desk to a comfortable chair or even a bed if I wanted.

All of this is combined with the fact that there are thousands of courses available online about all kinds of subjects that people would have needed so many books to learn up to just a few decades ago. We even have online tutoring now, whereas an autodidact from decades ago would have needed to ask around or hire a tutor in person to obtain the same information we have access to at the drop of a dime.

Is this the best era for learning and academia in human history? I think it is, personally. I'm also pretty sure this ease of access to a wealth of information is even more noticeable in research, postgraduate studies, etc.

 

[ChristineM]

Completely agree, and what makes it best is that it is available to anyone and everyone.

 

[Altfish]

It is the best era with a big BUT !!
You need to understand how to do research and verify what you are reading is true. There is so much non-sense and fake news out there.

 

[Viker]

I agree. This is a better time to learn. When I was younger I spent a lot of time at the library, it was a sanctuary for me. Compared to then, there are way more resources now. We had the telnet but it was nothing like today. By the end of college the modern internet came about. Still, it was nothing like now thirty years ago.

 

[Secret Chief]

I zoned out a bit and had this thought while studying earlier today. I had several tabs open in my browser, a few for one subject and a few for the other, and could seamlessly alternate between them at the click of a button. I could also move from my desk to a comfortable chair or even a bed if I wanted.

All of this is combined with the fact that there are thousands of courses available online about all kinds of subjects that people would have needed so many books to learn up to just a few decades ago. We even have online tutoring now, whereas an autodidact from decades ago would have needed to ask around or hire a tutor in person to obtain the same information we have access to at the drop of a dime.

Is this the best era for learning and academia in human history? I think it is, personally. I'm also pretty sure this ease of access to a wealth of information is even more noticeable in research, postgraduate studies, etc.

Defernitly.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I tend to agree that it is, simply because of the internet, whereas before one often had to be rather cosy with a library to follow up leads in any bibliography, plus of course communications with so many others is so much better and would hardly have happened before the internet arrived.

 

[Brickjectivity]

It is a great era of learning for those who learn to practice in childhood. There are also some other great advantages such as improved dietary knowledge.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I zoned out a bit and had this thought while studying earlier today. I had several tabs open in my browser, a few for one subject and a few for the other, and could seamlessly alternate between them at the click of a button. I could also move from my desk to a comfortable chair or even a bed if I wanted.

All of this is combined with the fact that there are thousands of courses available online about all kinds of subjects that people would have needed so many books to learn up to just a few decades ago. We even have online tutoring now, whereas an autodidact from decades ago would have needed to ask around or hire a tutor in person to obtain the same information we have access to at the drop of a dime.

Is this the best era for learning and academia in human history? I think it is, personally. I'm also pretty sure this ease of access to a wealth of information is even more noticeable in research, postgraduate studies, etc.

I think mass communication has progressed a long way. Particularly access to information.

Like anything, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

[syo]

I don't think so.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I think the modern age at present makes possible Elon Musk's "First Principles" method of learning accessible for so many people.


Does Elon Musk’s “First Principles” Learning Style Work?

I'm convinced a dedicated person can achieve academic levels without ever going to college or university.

 

[RestlessSoul]

The test of the premise would be, are people nowadays better informed than they ever were? I'm not sure the answer to that would be an unequivocal yes. Everyone is now an instant expert on everything, but how deep does our knowledge really go.

The internet allows access to unlimited information, but how much of that information is reliable? How do we interrogate our sources, and how widely do most of us read beyond our own narrow interests? And if we are all so well informed, why does so much of humanity, including it's ruling classes, appear mired in ignorance and prejudice?

 

[Stevicus]

I zoned out a bit and had this thought while studying earlier today. I had several tabs open in my browser, a few for one subject and a few for the other, and could seamlessly alternate between them at the click of a button. I could also move from my desk to a comfortable chair or even a bed if I wanted.

All of this is combined with the fact that there are thousands of courses available online about all kinds of subjects that people would have needed so many books to learn up to just a few decades ago. We even have online tutoring now, whereas an autodidact from decades ago would have needed to ask around or hire a tutor in person to obtain the same information we have access to at the drop of a dime.

Is this the best era for learning and academia in human history? I think it is, personally. I'm also pretty sure this ease of access to a wealth of information is even more noticeable in research, postgraduate studies, etc.

Yeah, probably so. Technology has made things so much easier, not just in having access to more information, but also in being able to do things like write papers. I recall having to type papers in a typing lab in the library, where you'd pay 25¢ for 15 minutes of typing time (at least until I could afford to buy a typewriter, which wasn't exactly cheap). I got pretty good at taking notes in longhand during lectures, though.

I also became adept at using card catalogs in the library. During most of my college years, the university library had a large area on the main floor which is where the card catalogs were at. One day, I went in the library, and all the card catalogs were gone and computer terminals in their place. It seems they moved the card catalogs one floor up, so they didn't disappear entirely, at least not for a while.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I think the modern age at present makes possible Elon Musk's "First Principles" method of learning accessible for so many people.


Does Elon Musk’s “First Principles” Learning Style Work?

I'm convinced a dedicated person can achieve academic levels without ever going to college or university.

Most of the engineering heavy lifting in Musk's companies is done by his employees, not by him. He's also not professionally qualified as an educator, so any advice he shares on that front is merely what has worked for him. It won't necessarily work for all or even most.

One of the most significant differences between specialization via a degree and self-learning is that the former tests and certifies one's knowledge and academic progress using established criteria. I could read a hundred books in a year, but without being tested on the subjects therein or otherwise demonstrating my expertise, I would never be able to get hired as a researcher or professor.

Self-learning needs to be put into practice before one could say that it has reached an academic level. There are many highly skilled self-taught programmers, for example, and they have indeed reached academic levels—but not solely due to self-learning. They also need to apply and test their knowledge via work experience, projects, programming competitions, or other methods of certifying that they have reached a specific level of skill in what they have studied.

There are also some subjects where self-learning could never replace an academic qualification. Medicine is generally one of those, partially because of how much practical knowledge it requires. How many self-taught surgeons or dentists have we heard of? There's a reason for that.

 

[Heyo]

It is the best era with a big BUT !!
You need to understand how to do research and verify what you are reading is true. There is so much non-sense and fake news out there.

There are courses for that.

 

[Debater Slayer]

The test of the premise would be, are people nowadays better informed than they ever were? I'm not sure the answer to that would be an unequivocal yes. Everyone is now an instant expert on everything, but how deep does our knowledge really go.

I don't think we can judge the premise based on the extent to which people are informed today. That assumes more people will necessarily want to seize the opportunity to learn just because they have it, which is not always the case.

Furthermore, just as more knowledge is available, more misinformation than ever is also in circulation and readily accessible. It's like having healthier diets available but also much more junk food. Many people will go for the latter.

The internet allows access to unlimited information, but how much of that information is reliable? How do we interrogate our sources, and how widely do most of us read beyond our own narrow interests? And if we are all so well informed, why does so much of humanity, including it's ruling classes, appear mired in ignorance and prejudice?

Some of the top universities in the world, such as Stanford and MIT, have free courses online. Those institutions are pretty easy to classify as reliable sources of information, although I agree that the line becomes blurrier in other instances. Learning where and how to vet information is itself a crucial skill in self-learning.

 

[Heyo]

The test of the premise would be, are people nowadays better informed than they ever were?

Nope. @Debater Slayer didn't say or imply that people are better informed, just that they can be if they wish to.
A test for that would be to task a bunch of people to learn about a subject, one group with internet access and a control group "the classical way".

I'm not sure the answer to that would be an unequivocal yes. Everyone is now an instant expert on everything, but how deep does our knowledge really go.

Yep. Easy access gives an illusion of easy comprehension which leads to an enforced Dunning-Kruger effect. The time it takes to learn about a subject hasn't changed but the time to access information has. The later gives illusions about the former.

 

[Quintessence]

Yes and no.

It's unparalleled for learning from written word. From the fixed and the rigid put to a paper or screen.

Written word and text has some fairly significant limitations.

I've noticed this more as I've been deepening my religious practice. I used to focus a lot on book learning. There's nothing wrong with that, but you will miss a lot by doing only that (or even mostly that).

So much of learning is in the doing.

And in that, this era is poor. The sheer quantity of noise drowns out the art of doing and being. Of improvising. Of feeling and sensing.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Yes and no.

It's unparalleled for learning from written word. From the fixed and the rigid put to a paper or screen.

Written word and text has some fairly significant limitations.

I've noticed this more as I've been deepening my religious practice. I used to focus a lot on book learning. There's nothing wrong with that, but you will miss a lot by doing only that (or even mostly that).

So much of learning is in the doing.

And in that, this era is poor. The sheer quantity of noise drowns out the art of doing and being. Of improvising. Of feeling and sensing.

I can see your point for more practically applied subjects (such as knitting, cooking, laboratory science, and musical instruments), and this partially ties into the point I made about medicine in post #13.

However, it seems to me that things considerably differ for more theoretical subjects. What is this era lacking in the doing when it comes to, say, self-studying theoretical physics or advanced algebra? Is there any disadvantage to learning those from online courses as opposed to older methods? I personally see practically none, since the "doing" of those subjects has always been primarily in the written word and theory. They don't involve much, if any, manual practice in the same way as those I listed above.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

is-this-the-best-ever-era-for-learning

For those that want to learn, yes. But I think the drive to learn is diminishing, at least in American culture. Dunning-Kruger ("that's just your opinion"), anti-intellectualism, and disinformation media are all rampant, and social media is having a numbing effect on minds. The information gap is widening.

So, yes, if you're an autodidact, life has never been better.

As an illustration, when I was in college in the late seventies, I became involved with duplicate bridge. I had no mentors, and the only information I had access to was in paperback books. I didn't learn much about the game, accumulated almost no master points, and seldom played it for the next several decades. Fast forward to retirement, where I took up the game again, but this time, with the help of the Internet, where I had access to multiple writers on every bridge topic, and became competitive at the game - something that wouldn't have happened this time, either, without modern conveniences. I include Amazon in that, since I also have access to all bridge books for sale, which was not the case in college when I would look to see what the mall booksellers had on the topic and choose from that limited list.

 

[Revoltingest]

It's the best ever era for learning....unless
one spends too much time on social media.
RF has unsmartened me in a bigly weigh.